Léon: The Professional (1994) User Reviews

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

[Methos-7 · 10/10 · 16 May 1999]

Luc Besson's movie Léon (The Professional) gives us an intense story which is maximized in potential by the casting of the movie done by Todd Thaler. Every aspect of the movie delivers to the audience and makes an impressive overall package. Jean Reno plays a character named Léon who has learned to repress his emotions in order to perform his job as a "cleaner", or hit-man. His secluded world is shattered by the young girl named Mathilda who lives on the same floor as he does in an apartment building. When she turns to him for help, he learns about living a normal life, even if the circumstances which unite them are far from normal.

The performance delivered by then twelve-year old Natalie Portman as Mathilda is nothing short of brilliant. Her ability to relate to others with body movement and facial gestures is matched by few, she really brings raw emotion and believability to a difficult role. Mathilda and Léon are unexpectedly thrown together, but learn to value life from their chance encounter, and how valuable a friendship can be.

Jean Reno as Léon gives us a solemn and calculated character who sets all of his energy on his assignments until her is given something else to care about. Mathilda gives him the daughter that he never had, while Léon serves as a father and friend to her. Gary Oldman, as the corrupt DEA Agent Norman Stansfield, offers the viewers an amazingly wired and electrical performance which pushes the envelope. He moves the story along by his actions. Oldman offers us a memorable portrait of a sadistically obsessed man who stops short of nothing to get what he wants.

The Professional is what movie-making is all about. Without the overuse of special effects, a large shooting location, or a commercially star studded cast, we are given all that could possibly be asked for in a movie. Portman, Oldman, and Reno, along with Danny Aiello as the hit-contractor Tony remind us that there is no substitute for great acting. There are elements of comedy, drama, and action, and great original music by Eric Serra adds to the energy the film already encapsulates. The most impressive thing about the movie is its story which is basic but is maximized by all the other elements which go into the making of the movie. Simply put, an intense and impressive movie.

Masterful

[tjcclarke · 10/10 · 29 March 2004]

I have long thought that owning films on DVD or video is a waste of money - you watch them once and after that they are left to fester at the back of a cupboard. Occasionally I make an exception - some films simply cannot be fully appreciated on just one viewing. Every time I watch Leon is as gripping and enjoyable as the first. Sad, funny, violent, incredibly touching - few films manage to tick all the boxes and even fewer are about hitmen.

It obviously helps when your leading man has as much screen presence as Jean Reno. Thin and wiry with toilet brush hair and a face like a bag of spanners, he is hardly your typical gun-toting action hero, but he has an innocence and compassion that makes you fall for him instantly. Leon's life is as simple as a small child's: TV, lashings of milk and the odd gangland assassination. He cannot read, he doesn't sleep, he hasn't the trappings of family or wealth (the fees for his hits are habitually trousered by his `benefactor': sleazy small-time Italian gangster Tony (Danny Aiello)) - In short, he lives like a robot. And then he meets Mathilda.

Normally I can't stand Hollywood kids. They are all doey-eyed, bouffant-haired brats who can cry on cue and are always ready with a cutesy, smart-alec comment that will cause their adult co-stars to tinkle with laughter or tousle their hair playfully. Often they are kidnapped and huge ransoms demanded while their parents go demented with worry. I for one am usually rooting for the kidnappers.

Natalie Portman's Mathilda is the antithesis of these namby-pamby Dawson's Creek actors-in-waiting. For starters, she has something justifiable to gripe about, in that her entire family has just been slaughtered by Gary Oldman and his gang of crooked DEA officers. This is a bit of a blow, to say the least, but Mathilda takes it all in her stride and teams up with Leon in a bid for revenge. So begins one of the stranger relationships in silver screen history, but one of the most memorable.

On the face of it, a love story between a twelve year old girl and a hairy French hitman would raise a few eyebrows among more conservative movie-goers, but director Luc Besson handles it so beautifully, it seems like the most natural thing on earth. They are united in being totally alone in the world - indeed, the scene where Mathilda walks quietly down the corridor past the carnage in her apartment and knocks on Leon's door, imploring him in a tearful whisper to let her in is as breathtaking as it is heartbreaking. Leon is wary at first, but she soon wins him round and starts to gently bring him out of the shell.

Portman is truly astonishing - one can almost forgive her for being a part of the appalling Star Wars prequels on the strength of this one performance. The iconic image of this tiny, grubby little girl clutching Leon's beloved plant and trotting to keep up with her lanky hero's giant strides is one that will live long in the memory.

Aiello and Oldman (at his sadistic, malevolent best) provide predictably excellent support, there is a wonderfully suspenseful yet satisfying ending - heck, there's even a decent Sting song playing over the credits - for this (if nothing else) it would be remiss of me to give Leon anything other than top marks.

10/10

Visceral and intelligent - Besson's masterpiece

[Twinsen61 · 9/10 · 19 January 2004]

Leon is one of the most emotionally intense movies ever made. French director Luc Besson uses everything: actors, music, camera angles, lighting to create an unique experience - "It's not realism, it's not naturalism - it's heightened reality" as Gary Oldman very well put it.

In "The making of The Professional" Besson says "If I imagine somebody in the street try to knock on my daughter, I kill the guy, in five seconds. I kill him, and I think "It's in me, I'm a beast!" On this part we can't forget that a part of us, the genetic things inside are much, much older than The Ten Commandments". He certainly uses visceral scenes to create very strong emotion in the movie - the blood running from Mathilda's nose or Stansfield's unforgettable "EVERYONE!" are just a couple of examples. The music and the sound are excellent and are used in a masterly fashion - you can hear Fatman's heart beating desperately or a low claustrophobic sound when Stansfield turns to look at Mathilda's father.

However Leon does not work only on this primary level, it also has an intelligent story. It may seem to be almost a fairy-tale, but don't be fooled - just like his character Besson is serious. This movie has a message: without love we are dead, even if we don't see it. Only true love give meaning to our lives: "everything else reminds me a big yogurt: warm and rancid" as Mathilda says in the original script, which is available on the net under the name Leon Version 1. Is this true in "real life"? I don't know but this movie can make you wonder.

Then of course there's the sensuality. It's hypocritical to deny it, the camera interacts with Mathilda in a mesmerising fashion. It's not sick and it's not degrading: it's art, subtle and beautiful.

Leon is not perfect but it has so many great moments that all its flaws can be forgiven. It's a movie that really should not be missed, unless you are concerned with its amorality. And don't be - Leon is less violent than many action movies and the unusual relationship between the main characters is handled mostly with genuine feeling and tact.

Where are the accolades?

[jcapelli · 10/10 · 16 July 2002]

This movie is rated 63 on the imdb top 250 movie list, showing that people obviously like this movie, and with good reason. But why the hell didn;t this movie garner at least one single oscar or golden globe nomination??

natalie portman's performance was terrific as the emotionally ravaged matildha - best actress nomination for sure.

jean reno should have been nominated for a best actor nomination. the fact that the audience is led to feel sympathy and sorrow for a hitman speaks words enough about his performance.

gary oldman is fantastic as the corrupt and psychotic cop. his character is so repulsive and chilling, but at the same time so quirky and interesting to watch. best supporting actor nomination.

luc besson. when this man will get some kudos for his work i never know. the professional, in my opinion, is his greatest achievement as a director and, considering the fact he has helmed classic cult films such as nikita and the fifth element, the professional must rate highly as one of the best films of the 90's atleast! best film and best director nominations should have been given.

but no, it was all too easy to heap praise on the feel good movie forrest gump, and shun the movie that, through its intensity and tragedy, better highlights the value of life and love.

One of the greatest thrillers of all time.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 11 June 2023]

A hitman is forced to look after twelve year old Matilda, who's family has been killed.

Leon was and will forever be a masterpiece, it is a thought provoking, dramatic and pretty violent thriller, one that will actually challenge you, making you question what's actually happening in front of your eyes.

Violent and bleak in parts, but not lacking some humour, the game of charades for example is a real hoot, and breaks the serious narrative up a little.

Best scene for me, the showdown in The Gent's toilet, where Matilda finally confronts Stan, the acting is off the scale.

The relationship between Leon and Matilda is complex, but one thing that I noticed, is that every aspect of it is driven by Matilda, not Leon, he just goes with the flow.

The acting is phenomenal, there are a trio of first class performances, Jean Reno and Gary Oldman as you'd expect are captivating, but credit to a young Natalie Portman who is on par, defying her young age and inexperience, no wonder.

This amazing film still packs a punch.

10/10.

Excellent, smart action film.

[rustysettler · 10/10 · 4 January 2005]

Luc Besson's "The Professional" is sort of a companion piece to his international breakthrough hit "La Femme Nikiti", and in many ways it's an even better film. It raises the stakes of Besson's playful women-with-guns theme by making the heroine a 12-year-old, played by a then unknown Natalie Portman. Jean Reno is excellent as her assassin trainer and surrogate father. Oldman is completely over the top in one of his best bad-guy roles, obsessed with both Beethoven and butchery. As a gritty, suspenseful thriller, this film won't leave action fans feeling cheated, but the film is so much more than that. At the center of "The Professional" is a wonderful father and daughter-like relationship between two damaged strangers who find solace in each other.

a symphony in film

[Gjay2 · 7/10 · 25 April 2003]

luc besson will never top this movie. This is his benchmark, his classical composition. Look at the precise, intricate scenes. It's a symphony in cinema. Straight off, it's action. Intelligently shot, and scripted. It makes everything that follows hard to live upto. But it does so easily. It's stylish without being showy, it's deep without being sentimental. And it's just hugely enjoyable. Seeing the friendship between newly orphaned mathilda and skilled assasin leon bloom, is tenderly done. At risk of slipping into a sappy bond, besson keeps it easy on the emotions, without coming off as shallow.

The actors are all spot on, most notably the debut from a young natalie portman as mathilda. Showing an angry, sad, pent up, in love girl is no simple task but she breezes through it, touching all the right notes. And jean reno as the title character, is minimal but very effecting. Hard to understand, but easy to relate too. But gary oldman steals it, with his glorious overacting. He's as scary as he is determind. His line delivery is almost perfect. And his fate is very fitting. If only they made more intelligent action movies, then they could contend with this film. But as it stands right now, leon is one of the best action dramas ever made.

Masterpiece of violent Characterisations and fast action-shooting

[psiko · 10/10 · 5 August 1999]

An interview with Anne Parillaud, in the Evening Standard, 24.8.90, it was said that the message of Nikita is not one of violence but the idea is that people who are full of despair and missing love are not alone.

This idea continues in Léon. Léon was Besson's first foray into international film production. The similarities, or parallels, between Nikita and Léon are undoubted. Both the central protagonists attempt to come to terms with their dysfunctionality, to society, against a background of violence, which they both continue to act upon as the agent of someone else. There is no clean difference (we may also include Le Dernier Combat for comparison.) The only difference is gender.

I always found that until obtaining the "Version Integral" there was a character hole in the plot. The original cut released for US audiences was felt, by Besson, had an "offending" scene cut which ruined later scenes. The American test audiences hated it, seeing it as perverse and paedophiliac. The film was still panned by US critics as quasi-child pornography on general release. What it to be understood about this film, and this is what infuriated Besson, is that the film is about pure love. Not sex, which is all the Americans, could see.

And so we have ascertained that the characters in Besson's films are, simply, great. Then there is the action which is all the grace and style of Nikita. Typical of Besson's style with fast action-shooting and violent characterisation. This has to be one of Jean Reno's and by far Natalie Portman's best screen performance. To me, Gary Oldman plays his part to the tee, said by some magazines to be the best screen bad guy - it is one of his best performances.

Stylisation and excess are hallmarks of Besson's work. Characters are larger than life. Décors are in excess of realism. Besson's characters lack psychological depth. "The sumptuous and the ornate cohabit with the violent or the vulgar." Besson's use of excess is also extremely playful mixing violence with humour. Besson's work appeals to the tastes of popular culture and may not please that of the elite - arguably a reason for the rejection of his work by many intellectual film journals.

I have yet to hear of a person putting a bad word against this film. There is nothing I can personally fault so I give this film 10/10, a score only two other somewhat different films hold in my IMDb list of 345 films - "The Wizard of Oz" and "La Cité des Enfants perdu". If you like French Cinema or consider yourself a cinephile you must see the latter.

Would be a great film, if it wasn't so disgusting

[saje_ · 2/10 · 30 October 2021]

The only reason I'm not giving it 1 star is because the performances were incredible. Gary Oldman was phenomenal, and this was Natalie Portman's first acting credit, and she did so well considering how young she was. But that also segues into the main and irredeemable issue with this movie; Leon and Mathilda's relationship.

Mathilda is insanely sexualized and Leon honestly doesn't do a ton to dismiss her feelings toward him. The movie on its own is disturbing, but knowing that Luc Besson married and impregnated a 15 year old girl when he was 31 really sheds a lot more light on the situation. In the international version of the film there are a lot more sexual situations with Leon and Mathilda, and in the original script, Besson went so far as to write in the two of them having sex. It's clear that this film is a reflection of Besson's own deranged life, and unfortunately the spectacular performances and every other great aspect of the film that garnered significant critical acclaim cannot redeem the film. I simply cannot overlook the depravity of a pedophilic relationship, portrayed as some beautiful thing.

"I like these calm little moments before the storm..."

[ConkerBFD91 · 9/10 · 18 February 2008]

Many movies have characters in them who are hired assassins, or "hit men". They're the standard "badass" character that kills people in order to collect a reward. Most hit men in films have been portrayed as cold, heartless villains (Boba Fett of Star Wars, Vincent of Collateral). Léon, however, flips this cliché on its end, as the hit-man is the kind-hearted protagonist who learns how to love, thanks to a little girl who shows up on his doorstep.

Léon begins in a restaurant, with the assassin himself (Jean Reno) taking a contract from his boss Tony (Danny Aiello) to kill a man who's moving in on Tony's territory. The next 10 minutes become an enthralling cat and mouse game where Leon shows the viewers just why he is known as the cleaner: he is extremely good at this job. We also see Leon's human side, shown by his passion for milk, his affection for his plant (whom he calls his best friend) and when he becomes engrossed watching Singin' in the Rain. Leon seems quite content with this life, not seeming to want anything more. That is, until he is forced to take custody of a twelve-year-old girl (Natalie Portman) whose entire family was cruelly massacred by a corrupt DEA agent (Gary Oldman). This is where Leon is forced to change his lifestyle for the little girl, and when she wishes to get into contract killing to avenge her brother, Leon becomes her mentor and protector.

Luc Besson was both the director and screenwriter for Léon, and he proves with his sophomore effort that he is no one-hit wonder. Léon is a very fast paced movie, chronicling Leon's training of Mathilda, Mathilda's growing affection for contract killing (and for Leon himself), and the final standoff with Norman Stansfield. Despite all this, Léon also has time to throw in some slower scenes that develop Leon's and Mathilda's characters, expanding on their growing relationship and partnership.

Jean Reno does a very good job as Leon, portraying him both as an effective and frightening killing machine, and as a loving and caring father figure. There is almost a childlike innocence to Leon, with him being unable to read and not familiar with most American culture. Reno allows the audience to both sympathize with this character and respect him, an extremely challenging feat.

Natalie Portman's breakout role as Mathilda is one of the greatest acted child roles in a film, period. Portman is able to portray childlike innocence combined with an above average intelligence and awareness of the world around her. Although she is young, she becomes extremely interested in Leon and his job, wanting revenge for the gross acts committed upon her. Make no mistake, Mathilda is the true star of this film, and Portman completely shines in the role.

In comparison to Jean Reno's fairly subdued performance as Leon, apparently Luc Besson wanted a more exciting and over-the-top antagonist for the film: enter Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman completely overacts his character of the crooked DEA cop, and he does it so wonderfully that he steals every scene he is in. This is without a doubt the greatest performance of this underrated actor's career, as the fun Oldman has with this role practically oozes out of the screen and infects anyone who watches him. While some critics criticized Oldman for his performance, it was actually spot on considering that the character of Stansfield is a drug-addicted psychotic cop who has no problem with murdering an innocent family to get what he desires. The only nitpick I have with Stansfield is his screen time is fairly small compared with Leon and Mathilda; nevertheless he completely steals the show when he does appear.

The plot of Léon is fairly straightforward compared to most action flicks, as there are no particular plot twists or double crossings. However, the simple plot works because this is not a plot driven movie, it is a character driven one. That's not to say there is no action in this movie, there are a few great action sequences (especially the spectacular police shootout in the film's climax), but the film mainly revolves around the growing affection between Leon and Mathilda, and how they change each others' lives. Overall, Léon is an extremely well-made action/drama, and one of the best films of 1994.

A Brilliant Conflict

[Sickfrog · 10/10 · 14 August 1998]

This film, better known in the U.S. as "The Professional", is a wonderful and intense film. Jean Reno plays his role as a "cleaner" with incredible subtlety. Leon tries to keep his emotions completely suppressed, yet Matilda (in an extraordinary performance by a young Natalie Portman, who is destined to become a very powerful actress into her adult life) bring out in him a new-found joy for life that accompanies his growing paternal instincts. But, the most dynamic element of this film is undeniably Gary Oldman's performance as a wildly sadistic and crooked DEA agent with his own narcotic-induced demons. His obsessions eventually lead him to the brink of absolute madness in his hunt for the cleaner. Truly, this is Oldman's finest performance to date, worthy of Oscar glory, though sadly forgotten. And so, Luc Besson did indeed top his triumph of "La Femme Nikita" by far with this masterpiece. Though, I cannot exactly praise his most recent effort with the sci-fi misfire, "The Fifth Element."

Being a good hitman takes more than merely a willingness to lay down one's life.

[Fella_shibby · 9/10 · 24 September 2021]

I first saw this in the late 90s. Then again in the mid 2k on a dvd i own.

Revisited the remastered extended version last night with my family.

This movie is more than just a hitman or an assassin movie.

The music is top notch, the characters are very well developed, the action scenes n direction are stylish.

But the best part are the scenes between Reno n Portman. Leon is amazingly n very differently portrayed by Reno.

There is a Bollywood copy known as Bichoo (Scorpio).

The only thing good in the Bollywood movie is that the guy who played Tony gives away all of the hitman's money to the girl whereas in the original, the character of Tony gives only a single currency note to Mathilda n keeps blabbing the same "safer than the usual bank story".

Walk the Line...

[Xstal · 9/10 · 18 December 2022]

Leon is a cleaner for his boss, it's like removing bits of debris when you floss, a variety of tools, he always plays by his set rules, now he's taken in a girl he's come across. She purports to be 18 but she's a child, had to grow up quick with a family that's quite wild, now they have wounds, that won't be healed, after messing with Stansfield, that's left her quite annoyed and somewhat, slightly riled. It's a story of revenge and adolescence, of walking a fine line that may cause offence, but there's chemistry and connection, performances played to perfection, quite original, without too much pretence.

Jean Reno, Natalie Portman and especially Gary Oldman are immense.

Very good in some ways, problematic in others

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 20 April 2018]

When her family are slaughtered by a corrupt DEA officer and his men, a 12 year old girl takes refuge in a neighbour's apartment. A neighbour who it turns out is a professional hitman. She soon convinces him to train her to be his protégée.

This was French director Luc Besson's first American movie. It is a follow up of sorts to his earlier chic action-thriller Nikita (1990), with Jean Reno essentially reprising his role of a cleaner (professional assassin), although in this one he is playing a different character. Like all Besson's movies there is considerable style brought to the table with the action sequences once again particularly well-delivered. But perhaps the true revelation of the movie is Natalie Portman who puts in an extremely strong performance for such a young actress, full of charisma, humour and emotional depth. She plays off well against Reno, who is also impressive. Gary Oldman, on the other hand, is pretty grating and annoying mostly as the main villain, a character who is cartoonish and somewhat ridiculous overall.

While I do find this film good quality for the most part, with great action sequences and some interesting characterisations, I have to express serious reservations about the director's cut, where Portman's young character is constantly trying to get Reno to sleep with her. Its majorly uncomfortable stuff and really entirely unnecessary. And while Léon does spurn her advances, it's never really very clear that he rejects her for entirely the right reasons. Seemingly in the original script, the characters do actually end up sleeping together, which we can only be grateful never actually made the final cut but it does make you wonder what Besson was thinking with all this questionable stuff. My advice would be to avoid the director's cut and watch this one in the trimmed version, which removes all this contentious material.

Some things I liked some I did not.

[petarmatic · 7/10 · 11 April 2014]

I was very surprised to see that this film received such a high grade. I did not think it deserves it.

Things i liked about it. It is the acting of two principal actors, Mr. Reno I like very much from the times of La Femme Nikita, he is a spectacular actor, especially in the roles like these. Natalie Portman is also excellent in a role like this, later in the Star Wars I did not like her that much. I think as a young teenager in this film she is excellent, for the later roles I am not that sure.

Things I did not like. Plot is not realistic. I simply do not like that. When is something like this possible in the real life? Never. Also too much violence, but films of Luc Besson are always like that. I guess it has to be that way. Violence and sex sells. Especially if you throw a slight nudge of pedophilia in it.

Unforgettable

[greybitsdmg · 10/10 · 11 November 2009]

When I first watched this film at the cinema, I wasn't aware of IMDb. I've since watched it probably 4 or 5 times, and have recently bought the Directors Cut. Having used IMDb a lot recently, I checked out Leon. It was kind of heart warming, having a great deal of my memories of this movie from the previous 15 years being revisited upon me so eloquently whilst reading the comments.

It is a glorious film. One that I've not been able to forget for all the best reasons. I think you could probably choose any sub category art that forms a movie i.e., editing or cinematography, and you'd be hard pushed to find fault.

What makes this film Extra Special however, is the emotional 'ballet' taking place throughout the film.

My emotions were pretty much assaulted by a gang of joy/sadness/hate/fearful anticipation/love/empathy/shock/horror/hope.

It's one of those films.

I adored/respected/loved Leon (I still watch nearly every film with Jean Reno in).

I fell in love with Matilda. I've watched everyone of Natalie Portman's films since too.

I was already a fan of Gary Oldman. This film just added extra glue to that bond. He made a brilliant sociopath, in direct contrast to Leon's (anti-)sociopath.

I occasionally feel for a character (or two if it's a great romance), but it's very rare for me to be drawn into three so very different people's intimate lives so easily.

It's a shame there are too few films of this calibre.

A Tale of Revenge, Love & Life...

[saikatsamanta · 10/10 · 18 September 2022]

One of the most iconic Action films of all time, this story is about a ruthless hitman Jean Reno and his next door neighbour, 12 year old Natalie Portman who lives in an abusive household and how a tragedy makes this two tormented souls find each other, love and life again. Luc Besson directs this one with plenty of bloody and uber stylish action scenes and some really touching moments. The music is pretty damn fantastic and the editing is crisp. Jean Reno owns his role with stonecold attitude but also possess this awkward innocence. Portman gives probably the greatest performance from a Child Actor, playing a kid hungry for love but has grown up too quickly amidst crime. Gary Oldman goes off the hinges, playing a Crooked DEA cop, belting out one iconic line after another. You can watch this film again and again, a Masterpiece !!!

"I take no pleasure in taking life..."

[robelanator · 8/10 · 24 February 2005]

"...if it's from a person who doesn't care about it."

What really stands out for me (aside from the really excellent direction of the action sequences) is the too-brilliant for its own good script. Oldman,Reno, and Portman deliver lines that would seem goofy if spoken by lesser performers. Oldman especially chews the scenery in a way that's both amusing and utterly menacing. I wonder if his Beethoven obsession is a nod to the ultra-violent Alex from A Clockwork Orange?

The American version ("The Professional") was the first version I saw. I'd originally had no real intention of seeing it because I'd read a pretty savage review of it likening it to child pornography. Clearly this particular reviewer had his head firmly planted in his rear. I'm surprised he could find room what with that tremendous stick in the way. Anyway, once I finally saw "Leon" for myself - thanks to my cinemaphile grandfather - I observed no such thing. This wasn't smut, it was love. Leon has no interest in Matilda sexually, but loves her as a father would love a daughter.

If you have a choice then go for the longer director's cut. You get about 15 minutes more film - and not just filler. These are scenes that truly expand upon the story.

My only complaints are about the almost complete under use of the completely underrated Danny Aiello, and Oldman's single dimensional evilness.

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant with one of the best feature debuts ever

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 4 June 2011]

Luc Besson's film Leon:The Professional is a superb one. Visually, it is very stylish, with striking location work, atmospheric lighting and really authentic and bold cinematography. The soundtrack also does very well in enhancing the mood of each scene, and Besson's direction is faultless.

There is also a gripping story with well crafted characters particularly Mathilda and Jean Reno's character Leon, a cracking script and crisp pacing and while there are some over-the-top and intense moments particularly with Stansfield and the beginning, particularly as the chemistry between Mathilda and Leon expands there are some poignant ones too.

The acting is excellent. Jean Reno is charismatic and commanding in the title role while Gary Oldman is wildly bombastic as Stansfield. But I was especially impressed by Natalie Portman, who delivers one of the best and most captivating feature debuts ever. In conclusion, a fantastic film. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Favorite Movie of all-time (here is why)

[alwayslikethis · 10/10 · 23 December 2002]

I saw this movie in the theatre in 1994 and I really like it then, but at the time I wouldnt be able to tell you why. The next time I saw the movie was at home on TIVO, in December 2001 and I fell in love with the film all over again.

Firstly, the theme of the movie - Isolation and Redemption - The characters Leon and Mathilda had no one who loved them in this world and were very much alone (mathilda did have her 4 year old brother but that was all she had)The characters were dealing with a similar lonlieness even thought heir worlds were very different.

Secondly, the scripting in the film really hit me. When a bloodied, beaten Mathilda turns to Leon after meeting him only once or twice, she says to him "Is life always this hard or just when your a kid?" Leon pauses and his response to her was not what anyone would expect. The whole movie is well scripted and blows me away.

Thirdly, The cinematography is top notch. When Mathilda arrives at Leons door and she pleads to enter and when the door opens bathing her in light is simply breathtaking. The close-ups on the characters and the way the camera is held over their shoulder as they talk with each other really gives it a personal feel to allow you to empathise with the characters. I could go on about the cinematography more but I have more.

Fourth, the music by Eric Serra. I really enjoyed the music more and more with each viewing as I came to realize that the soundtrack was orchestrated specifically after each scene was filmed and then the music was designed to match what was happening on screen. Sometimes, I watch the movie and just pay close attention to the details in the music. It creates a whole new perspective.

Fifth, the acting and the casting. Jean Reno plays Leon so perfectly. You really can sense what the character is about. The soft spoken hitman who is like a child in many ways but extremely skilled at his job. Natalie Portman plays the street wise Mathilda who has to pull off one hell of a performance. Many say it is her best role and I agree. Much of the acting by both of these characters is done with simple facial expression. The dialogue between these two leaves you wanting to see more. Danny Aiello as Tony. Gotta love Tony. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Its open to debate and thats the way it is intended. Gary Oldman as Stansfield - The bad cop - what can you say? he plays the role over the top and is perfect and nuts.

Sixth, Luc Besson, director, writer and visionary who saw the potential of this film and went for it. How could anyone expect a movie that has a hitman who protects a twelve year old girl who falls in love with him and wants to be trained as an assassin to be a great film? Luc and Co. realized the dre am and brought the right people on board to make this very special film. I am amazed that it even came to be. He rested 50% of the acting chores on a 12 yr. old girl with no acting lessons or experience - his film depended on her and he was a little worried, no doubt. But he showed her what he needed from her and she gave everything she had... and it shows.

All I can say is this movie is like a song that I never grow tired off. I know there are others who fell the same way. Feel free to email me and join the Leon fan club on yahoo. 10 out of 10, of course.

The hit-man and her.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 24 April 2017]

An unlikely relationship forms between 12-year-old Mathilda (Natalie Portman), who seeks revenge on the gangsters who slaughtered her family, and an assassin, Léon (Jean Reno), who lives in the same apartment building and teaches her how to 'clean'.

A love story between a grown man and a twelve year old girl: sounds a bit dodgy, doesn't it? Director Luc Besson tries his hardest to pull it off by making Reno's character almost childlike, and having Portman's Mathilda act well beyond her years, swearing, smoking, and more than capable of looking after herself. In the end, though, it still feels very awkward…

Sporting a Louise Brooks bobbed haircut and wearing shorts and a vest, Mathilda is definitely sexualised, kinda like a cross between Lolita, Mindy from Kick Ass and that girl from Lazy Town, which makes her relationship with Léon rather uncomfortable viewing at times, especially when the characters declare their feelings for each other, or when Mathilda tells a hotel manager that she is Léon's lover.

Thankfully, the film's love angle is never developed beyond the platonic, and Besson breaks up the emotional drama with numerous shootouts and explosions as Mathilda tries to find and kill villain Stansfield (Gary Oldman) with help from Léon. It's mindlessly entertaining, I suppose, but not nearly good enough to warrant the film's current IMDb ranking (#27 in the Top 250).

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

A thrilling crime film, in deep touch and care with the characters- Besson and Portman's best work to date

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 20 March 2005]

I sensed that Luc Besson (director of The Fifth Element and La Femme Nikita) was, like Tarantino and many, many others before him, borrowed elements from various films and genres to create their own voice in the film. With Leon, I sensed him alluding to the crime films of France (i.e. Melville), Hong-Kong (i.e. Woo), and America (i.e. Scorsese), and making it into his own special brand for the story and characters. That his style visually is as compelling helps a great deal. The international version (which is the one I saw) is a little grittier, and more suggestive, than the version most American audiences saw in 1994 and on cable. But it is also a must-see if you are planning to see the film. It's not a long movie, though it gives a good many details in its story.

Jean Reno has his star-making turn (at least for what he's worth) in Leon- he's ruthless contract killer who will kill just about anyone for the right price. He lives out of an apartment by himself, trying his best to ignore his noisy neighbors. One of the daughters is Mathilda (Natalie Portman, also a major breakthrough performance), abused by her whole family to no end. When a corrupt cop (Gary Oldman, one of the key villain performances of his career along with Dracula and Drexl in True Romance) goes and kills off her family while she's away, she has no one else to turn to besides the reclusive killer. She knows what he does, and she wants in. The rest of the film is about their relationship, as it unfolds professionally and emotionally, leading to a tremendous, bloody climax.

One thing that struck me most about Leon is the fact that the film was more disturbing than I expected. The idea of a killer getting a pupil in a young teenage girl is unusual enough, but the way it unfolds I felt so much for her plight got to me at times. this doesn't make Leon a tear-jerker (maybe for some, I'm not sure), but because of Portman's dead-on portrayal, it makes the story work somehow, and is in a way as fantastical as it is naturalistic. There are also a few scenes that stuck out as being little masterpieces of all the elements coming together. The first is a brief scene, and crucial to showing the character of Leon early on- he takes a break after his contract, and sees a movie, a musical with Gene Kelly. He's the only one in the theater, and he is completely in the grasp of what he sees on the screen. It's the perfect touch of humanity and shows his only escape is into complete fantasy.

The second is when Leon and Mathilda are in a restaurant, after she has just gone through a day of training (there's a hilarious montage that follows this scene). Mathilda is getting drunk off of champagne, rambling with words she may or may not mean. Suddenly, she starts laughing, and she laughs more, and harder. People in the restaurant look at her like she's nuts. Leon is, of course, embarrassed. However, I thought this was just the right touch to this scene, where the kind of father-daughter relationship going on between Leon and Mathilda is revealed. It's not exactly funny, not even really cringe worthy. It just is. The third scene is when Mathilda decides to pay a visit to the man who murdered her family. She follows the man into the bathroom, and waits. Suddenly, he (Oldman) appears out from behind a door. The language used, the tenseness of the two off of one another, it's simply the most terrifying scene in the picture (aside from the first violent turning point).

So, basically, when Leon finished, I think I realized that my reaction was this: if I had seen this film when I was younger, be it in high school or even middle school, I would've responded to it even more strongly than I do now. There's something very visceral about the nature of violence and killing, as well as the mentor/pupil relationship, that Besson really gets down pat. While some of the situations have the chance of slipping into clichés, it doesn't happen very often. Leon: The Professional, is hard-hitting when it has to be, soft and funny when it can, and does stay with the viewer a few days after it's over.

Good acting, bad acting, big plot holes...

[Junker-2 · 6/10 · 20 December 2004]

It is a mystery to me why "The Professional" is rated so high here on the IMDb...#62 as I write this. To be sure, there is much to admire here. But for everything director Luc Besson gets right with this movie he seems to get something else quite terribly wrong.

Let's start with the positive: Natalie Portman as Mathilda is a revelation here. Young, beautiful and very, very talented, it should come as no surprise after watching this movie why George Lucas wanted her to play a major role in his second "Star Wars" trilogy. And Jean Reno as Leon is her perfect counterpart. Reno underplays his role beautifully and the two stars develop a true screen chemistry.

Oh, but now the negatives. Gary Oldman, normally a wonderful villain, is way, way over the top as the DEA agent Stanfield. He "chews up the scenery" to quote other reviewers I have read. (That's not a compliment.) And Oldman's lunatic rantings lead me to the main problem I have with the movie: Plot holes.

In order to fully believe the events of this movie you must accept that Stanfield is at least somewhat capable of behaving in a normal manner in society. After all, he holds an important position in the DEA. And he must have a supervisor or two, doesn't he? Could the raving lunatic we see here really function in that role without raising a dozen red flags? I don't think so.

Of course, Stanfield has a merry band of followers. Dozens, it seems. One has to wonder if every cop in the city is as corrupt as he is. How in the world do they burst into someone's apartment, kill his wife (in the bathtub!) as well as his teenage daughter and four year old son...again all without raising any red flags?

And speaking of that pivotal scene, it is also hard for me to accept that Mathilda's father, knowing what is coming, would not have had his entire family out of that apartment by Noon.

The biggest plot hole, however, is the relationship between Mathilda and Leon. As well acted as it is, the lone wolf hit-man deciding to "adopt" a 12 year old girl just does not ring true. It is far too clearly a mere plot device.

While watching this movie I was often reminded of the film "Taxi Driver" which deals with many of the same themes. "Taxi Driver" is a movie that deserves a high ranking in the IMDB top 250. "The Professional" does not.

Luc Besson style of violent action

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 7 August 2014]

Léon (Jean Reno) is a milk-drinking illiterate hit-man for Italian mob boss Uncle Tony (Danny Aiello) in NYC with his favorite plant. His next door neighbor 12 year old Mathilda (Natalie Portman) has an abusive father (Michael Badalucco) who skimmed drugs off of Stansfield (Gary Oldman). Stansfield massacres the family. She comes home to find Stansfield's men still there. She fakes and walks over to Léon's. It turns out that they are corrupt DEA agents. Léon the cleaner reluctantly lets her in and she badgers him to teach her. She seeks revenge on his little brother's murderers.

Director Luc Besson brings his often collaborator Jean Reno to America and makes a nice discovery with a young Natalie Portman. Before Hit-Girl, there was Mathilda. Gary Oldman is a superb strange bad guy. Luc Besson has a certain French flair with his action. He really has a unique take on the action thriller genre. It definitely has an edgy violent style that sometimes sexualized the young Portman. She takes on a lot of adult tendencies. That probably held it back a little back in the day.

One of the Greats of the 1990s

[gavin6942 · 9/10 · 21 November 2014]

Mathilda Lando (Natalie Portman), a 12-year-old girl, who is reluctantly taken in by Léon Montana (Jean Reno), a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. Léon and Mathilda form an unusual relationship, as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.

This is what you get if you take "Lolita" (sort of) and put it in the middle of a world with mobsters and hit men. And then casting for perfect actors? Priceless. Luc Besson probably had no idea that Portman would go on to be the international sensation she has become.

Of course, we also have a solid performance from the always-impeccable Gary Oldman. Very few actors are working on his level. Maybe Daniel Day-Lewis, possibly Christian Bale. But Gary Oldman can be anyone and delivers 100% every time.

Roger Ebert gave the film only two-and-a-half stars out of four, writing, "Always at the back of my mind was the troubled thought that there was something wrong about placing a 12-year-old character in the middle of this action... In what is essentially an exercise—a slick urban thriller—it seems to exploit the youth of the girl without really dealing with it." Not to disregard his concern, but time seems to be against Ebert here. The film has steadily gone up in praise over the years, possibly due to Portman's rising star.